The Importance of Image (Is that really important?)

As I am writing this post, I stand at ‘Doctor Lounge’ in a hospital where I work as a Psychologist. I look through a big window and I see an old almost-die car at the parking lot. Interestingly, the car is parked at one of those lots for ‘doctors only’.

While looking down at the car, I also see a young doctor is walking further from the parking lot. I would like to assume that the old car is his, but since assumption won’t necessarily do any good, then let’s not assume that he is the doctor who owns that car.

The image of practicing as a doctor has always been related to excellence, luxurious choice of career, and bright future (read: rich and famous). Somehow, we were all raised to believe in such image of a doctor. But is that true?

Maybe not entirely.

The owner of this old car might be a young man who’s doing his internship in the hospital and not being able yet to buy his own car. Therefore, he needs to borrow his Dad’s only car to work at the hospital. He might be very smart and meticulous, but since he is at the start of building his career, he doesn’t have his own car yet.

I also knew a young doctor who’s doing his residential years now. He comes from a very humble family and run a house business. His mother owns her own beauty salon (small and simple) and his father cooks (he has delivery service). To be able to support his school fee, both of his parents work real hard and complain nothing during the process. They believe that every hardwork that they do, will do good for their son as a future doctor. This young man has no car, so he has to use his motorbike to go to the hospital where he’s doing his residential.

It is easy to match one profession with certain images. Doctor is rich. Engineer is rich, but must dirty their hands. But being a janitor is not a choice – it’s only for those who do not have the choices. Those traits are coming from our belief in images.

But hey, the world is so rich – we have too many different colors to see! Embrace the richness and you will see that the old car is just a medium for someone to be a very successful doctor in the coming years.

Enjoy your life!